ALBANY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo is defending a decision to allow a Showtime television series access to the Clinton Correctional Facility, the maximum-security prison where two inmates escaped and led police on a three-week manhunt.

Cuomo on Thursday was asked about recent comments by Escape at Dannemora executive producer Ben Stiller, who said Monday that the Democratic governor intervened when state corrections officials were wary of letting them shoot footage within the northern New York prison where the escape took place.

The governor said Stiller wanted to film at the prison.

"From our point of view, doing a movie in the North Country is great," Cuomo said at a news conference in Washington County.

"It's economic activity. It brings people to the North Country. Everything I've heard is that from an economic point of view, purely selfishly, it was great for the economy."

Ben Stiller's comments

Stiller, the famed comedic actor, directed Escape at Dannemora, the eight-part miniseries on the escape that will begin airing in November on Showtime.

The series chronicles the June 2015 escape by inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat, who cut through prison walls and pipes to escape through a nearby manhole in Dannemora.

At a Television Critics Association event in Los Angeles on Monday, Stiller was asked what the biggest challenge of filming the series was.

"I would say, for me, the biggest challenge was the prison, because New York state Department of Corrections at first wasn't jumping up to say, "Hey let us help you, let us show you how they escaped," Stiller said.

Stiller said he was ultimately able to get a meeting with Cuomo, who made it happen.

Cuomo's past schedule shows he and top aide Melissa DeRosa met with Stiller on July 25, 2017, in his New York City office.

According to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Escape at Dannemora crew filmed at the Clinton Correctional Facility over approximately 12 days in September 2017 and February 2018.

"(Cuomo) was kind enough to say, 'Hey, you know what: Why don't you shoot at the real prison?'" Stiller said.

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12 days of filming

According to DOCCS, the crew filmed nine days outside the prison, working in the parking lots and along the exterior.

For three days, the film crew was allowed to film in the prison's recreational yard and "select buildings inside the prison."

The production company covered overtime costs, according to the agency.

When the crews were filming in the recreational yard, no inmates were allowed in it, according to the state.

Asked about Stiller's contention that prison officials were initially wary of allowing the filming, DOCCS said the agency was "engaged in ongoing dialogue until all safety concerns ... were addressed."

On Thursday, Cuomo said he was satisfied all safety issues were addressed.

"They (the Escape at Dannemora crew) worked very closely with the commissioner's office and all security concerns were taken into account," Cuomo said. "It went off without incident and, again, it was very good for the economy of the area."